Celebrating those who excel

Barbara Hulanicki

School of Art and Design; 02.09.2008,
Honorary Degree of Doctor of Design

Born in Poland and raised in England, Barbara began her career in fashion in the early 1960s, working as a freelance fashion illustrator. In 1964, she founded the boutique Biba, which became an icon of 60s and 70s London, evolving into an elaborate five-storey Art Deco department store with a restaurant. The avant-garde Biba cosmetics brand was sold in 33 countries.

Throughout her career, Barbara has designed costumes for stage and film productions, including clothing for Cathy McGowan on Ready Steady Go (1964), Julie Christie in Darling (1965) and various costumes for old friend and Biba model Twiggy.

Jonathan Falkingham

School of Engineering and the Built Environment; 01.09.2008, Honorary Degree of Doctor of Design

Jonathan is Chief Executive and joint founder of the Urban Splash property development group, which has won 253 awards to date for architecture, regeneration and business success. Jonathan, originally from Bradford, studied architecture at Liverpool University, gaining a First Class Honours degree in 1989. On graduating, he formed Design Shed, later merging with King McAllister to become shedkm which continues to be a vibrant and successful architects practice in Liverpool. Urban Splash is currently investing over £1 billion in regeneration projects across the country. 

Nancy Kirkland

School of Health; 01.09.2008,
Honorary Degree of Doctor of Science

Nancy Kirkland is the President of the Nursing and Midwifery Council and the elected registrant nurse member for Scotland. She is a Registered Nurse and Qualified Midwife. She held the position of Chair of the Nursing Committee prior to becoming President. Nancy was instrumental in taking forward projects, such as essential skills clusters for pre-registration nursing, simulation in practice and advanced nurse practice.

Nancy has a BSc (Hons) Biological Science 2:1 and a Masters in Business Administration awarded by the University of Edinburgh. She has recently graduated with a LLB Law Degree from Edinburgh Napier University.

Ruth Lingford

School of Art and Design; 02.09.2008,
Honorary Degree of Doctor of Arts

Ruth Lingford was born in 1953 in London. In 1990, after working as an Occupational Therapist with mentally ill, elderly people and bringing up a family, she completed a BA in Fine Art and Art History at Middlesex Polytechnic. In 1992, she completed an MA from the Royal College of Art. In 1993 she was awarded an Arts Council of England animate! grant to make What She Wants, an experimental film produced entirely on a home Amiga computer.

Camila Batmanghelidjh

School of Education; 03.09.2008,
Honorary Degree of Doctor of Social Science

Camila has a First Class Degree in the Arts and a Masters in Psychotherapy, as well as clinical training supported by 18 years of psychoanalysis. Her interest is in the application of therapeutic thinking within inner-city communities. Camila describes her work as a vocation. In her early-twenties, she worked for Women’s Aid and set up a counselling service for a university, as well as  founding the Place to Be, which is now a national programme offering therapy to children in schools.

John Edwards

University of Wolverhampton Business School; 04.09.2008; Honorary Degree of Doctor of Business Studies

John Edwards joined Advantage West Midlands as Director of Regeneration in August 1999, and was appointed Chief Executive in November 2000. John is a Quantity Surveyor by profession and has held senior appointments in land and property development and business support. He has extensive experience in urban and rural economic regeneration and prior to joining Advantage West Midlands he was Director of Operations and Chief Executive at the Rural Development Commission. John stood down as Chief Executive of Advantage West Midlands in April 2008.

Mark Palmer

University of Wolverhampton Business School; 04.09.2008; Honorary Master of Business Administration

Mark Palmer was born in Wolverhampton in 1973 and was a pupil at St Edmund’s Secondary School and Wulfrun College.

After graduating in Business Administration at the University of Bath, Mark began his marketing career with United Biscuits, where he worked for five years on brands including Hula Hoops and McCoy’s. He then spent three years as Marketing Manager for Burger King before becoming Marketing Director of Green & Black’s organic chocolate in 2001. During Mark’s tenure, sales have risen from £4m to £60m.

Lisa Webb (née Potts)

School of Applied Sciences; 05.09.2008,
Honorary Fellowship

Lisa Webb came to national prominence in 1996 when she was working as a nursery nurse at St Luke’s School in Blakenhall, Wolverhampton. A man armed with a machete burst into the school grounds and started to attack children, parents and Lisa. Lisa sustained numerous injuries while trying to protect the children in her care. She was awarded over 20 local and national awards for her bravery; the final being the George Medal which is the highest civilian award. She founded the charity Believe To Achieve, raising aspirations for children and their families.

Pamela Worton

School of Education; 06.09.2008,
Honorary Fellowship

Born in Dudley, Pamela attended Dudley Girls’ High School and Dudley Technical College. She joined the forerunner of the University of Wolverhampton in 1967, working as secretary to the Head of the Mathematics & Physics Department. She married Robin in 1968 and has two children – Scott and Neil. Apart from a break of seven years when she was raising her family, Pamela continued to work for the University. She fulfilled a number of administrative roles and ended her career as Walsall Campus Registrar when she retired in September 2007.

Mick Waters

School of Education; 06.09.2008,
Honorary Degree of Doctor of Education

Mick Waters is Director of Curriculum at the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority. The goal is ‘to develop a modern, world-class curriculum that will inspire and challenge all learners and prepare them for the future’. Mick believes the curriculum should be treasured, valued and shaped to fit with children’s lives.

Before joining QCA, Mick was Chief Education Officer for the City of Manchester. In a challenging education environment, schools worked hard to break the cycle of urban deprivation, promoting a wide and rich curriculum and encouraging all learners to achieve as much as possible.